Kyoto was probably the city I was looking forward to the most on my Japan trip. I’d heard endless stories from fellow travellers about how Kyoto is the city which best preserved Japan’s cultural heritage. This holds true compared to large cities like Tokyo and Osaka but not necessarily so compared to smaller towns and villages like Takayama and Shirakawago. Nonetheless, I loved everything about Kyoto. It certainly has retained a lot more of the rich Japanese tradition and culture, obvious from the architecture and accoutrement – even more pronounced during the Gion Matsuri.
The Gion Matsuri
That was an event I was thrilled about. For one, many claim it is the most famous festival in Japan. And it definitely adds more cultural flair to Kyoto. The Gion Matsuri is the festival of the Yasaka Shrine, which stands tall right at the end of Gion. The festival takes place throughout the month of July but the high point is on the 17th. In the morning, there is the procession of floats, Yamaboko Junko, and at night there is another procession which follows some long ritual at Yasaka Shrine. Activities around Gion and inside the Yasaka Shrine compounds heat up a few days leading to Yamaboko Junko.
We were there a couple of days before Yamaboko Junko and spent most of our time in Gion. The entire area buzzed with people, many in yukatas and kimonos. The streets of Gion were closed to vehicles at night to allow for the thousands of people around. The paths within the Shrine were lined with dozens of small booths selling food and offering typical fun fare entertainment. It was surreal considering all this was happening within the compounds of a temple.
TO DO
Temple sightseeing
Eastern Kyoto
Japan-Guide provided great suggestions for day tours. We attempted the Eastern Kyoto full day tour but failed to complete it in one day. Starting with Ginkakuji, we walked down the Philosopher’s Path to Nanzenji Temple, visiting most of the temples in between. That alone took us about five hours and with the sun beating down on us, we decided to call it a day in the late afternoon and took a train back to the hotel from Keage Station. We did Kiyomizudera Temple, Higashiyama district, and Kodaiji Temple on the next day, which was great because it gave us more time to visit these places. The walk through Higashiyama to Kiyomizudera was particularly interesting as was the temple itself. From there, it was only a short 20-min walk to Gion which became our daily evening hang-out.
Northern Kyoto
Northern Kyoto does not have as many temples as in the East, but it does have arguably the most famous temple Kinkakuji or the Golden Pavilion. Kinkakuji is indeed a spendid temple, probably my favourite alongside Kiyomizudera. Unlike the Eastern temples which are not far from each other, Kinkakuji stands alone. A bus from Kyoto station takes about 40 minutes to Kinkakuji.
After Kinkakuji, we took a bus down to Nijo Castle. In Japan where space is such a luxury, Nijo Castle impresses with its expansive grounds. Definitely not to be missed.
Southern Kyoto
In the South is the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which can be quickly be reached by train. The Fushimi Inari Shrine site covers an entire mountain and you can trek all the way up for about 3 hours. We didn’t have time and walked up for about 3o minutes. The surroundings are beautiful and incredibly peaceful.
Geisha sighting
That was a big highlight in itself. Geishas and maikos are a hard lot to catch. Well, unless you’re willing to part with your life savings in an Ochaya or tea house. Gion definitely is the best spot to have a glimpse of Geishas, but with hundreds of other tourists fighting for that same luxury, where to wait and at what time?
Well, we got to Gion at about 5:30pm after a nice walk from Kiyomizudera Temple. Luck was on our side as we crossed path with a Geisha almost as soon as we walked into Gion. The first red and black building along Gion is apparently a popular Ochaya but with a flock of tourists crowding the entrance, we decided to wait on the side road instead. And this proved to be a great idea. We caught another Geisha walking the length of the road to finally turn and go into the Ochaya. Head held high and happy to have caught two Geishas, we headed to the other side of Gion for a drink.
Gion has a number of bars but on a Friday night, all those that allowed us a peek were pretty much packed. We ended up at Man in the Moon, an Irish pub. Scrap that. I just wanted a Guinness badly. That proved a good idea as well. As we left the place slightly before 11:00pm, a taxi ferrying three Geishas alighted right in front of us. They went into a small place along the road facing Man in the Moon.While waiting there for a short while, happily watching Geishas doing curtsies to guests exiting the place, we got a glimpse of another Geisha who was apparently heading back to her place, in an alley right across that bar.
Disclaimer: I’m using the term Geisha very loosely here. They may all be Maikos instead but I can’t distinguish between the two.
TO EAT
Chojiro
We found that place randomly while looking for Pontocho which apparently had good restaurants. Pontocho may have had many restaurants and a wide variety of cuisine choices, mostly European, but very few offered Japanese food, disappointingly. So, after a long walk under the scorching sun, we were relaxing at the Kamo river smoking area (you can’t miss that) when we saw Chojiro right across. Since we were looking for some sashimi for lunch and considering we couldn’t find a restaurant offering Japanese cuisine, we headed there. There was a queue, which was promising. It took us about 30 minutes to get a table but judging by the wide smiles on the patrons’ faces, we knew we had a winner here. And we were right. The food was amazing. In fact, we ordered a seasonal fish, prepared as sashimi and that fellow was so fresh, its tail and mouth were still moving. Now, I love sashimi and I love fresh food, but seeing my food move is not something I can get used to. Well, it eventually stopped moving and Chojiro probably offered some of the best food on our plates this entire trip.
Name: Unknown
We first reached Kyoto in the evening and after checking in at our hotel, we immediately left to find something to eat. Our hotel Hokke Club was right across Kyoto Station which was excellent since there are a lot of restaurants in the vicinity. We settled for an izakaya at the basement of a nearby building. I don’t know the name of the place but if you understand Japanese, do take a look at the sign in one of the photos and help me find out, will you?
The place was pretty big for an izakaya, at least compared to what we experienced before. They had an extensive menu too and we ordered as many dishes as our stomachs would let us. I was pleased to see they had magkeolli which is one of my favourite drinks. The food was excellent. The horsemeat sashimi was so good, we ordered a couple of these. I highly recommend that place. It was so good that we ended up there almost every night before heading back to the hotel.
STAY
Hokke Club
A hotel I will definitely book again when I next visit Kyoto. For a hotel so reasonably priced, the location couldn’t be any better. It faces Kyoto Station and the central bus station. The hotel provides bus guides to places of interest around Kyoto and that made traveling in the city a breeze. The room itself was true to Japanese standards, small but cosy. Bathroom was the usual Japanese template. The service was good with a staff fluent in English.
Leaving Kyoto was sad. We had a great time there and looking back now, I would have traded a few days spent in Tokyo to stay longer in Kyoto. Not that I don’t enjoy Tokyo, far from it, but I just prefer Kyoto and its ambience.
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